


Setleth Week 2019 - The Christmas Prince (AU)

by tbyleth (pinkp)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Angst and Romance, F/F, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21911266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkp/pseuds/tbyleth
Summary: Despite the title this AU fanfic is inspired by the book "The Selection" by Kiera CassSeteth is the heir of the crown of Fodlan. Before ascending to the throne he needs to go through "The selection" a process where he must chose a wife from 12 women. His mother Rhea hopes she can pull the strings behind the scenes to direct him to marry Edelgard Von Hresvelg the princess of the Adestrian Empire. However, Rhea didn't count on Byleth Eisner a commoner who that could steal her son's heart.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Seteth
Kudos: 18





	1. First Kiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [caffiiend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/caffiiend/gifts), [that_redhaired_lass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_redhaired_lass/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Selection](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/544105) by Kiera Cass. 



> I am using this as an opportunity to challenge me to write in the first person tense. As non native speaker I like challenging myself to practice writing in different styles. So my self assigned rules are: 1) First present tense 2) Write the prompt on the same day, no writing ahead of time.

**26th Ethereal Moon, 2019**

_Seteth_

Most people would be excited to celebrate their 21st birthday, to finally be seen like an adult by everyone around you. However, when you father dies when you are 15th adulthood catches up with you very quickly. Specially, if you are the heir to one of the most powerful kingdoms on the world. Tonight for me is not about celebration or enjoyment, it is about duty. Fodlán law indicates that a member of the royal family must start _the selection_ process the day of their 21st birthday. So tonight I will meet all eligible women in the kingdom and neighboring borders and select 12 of them. 

_Only Sothis knows how I am going to do make a choice without getting more than a couple of minutes with each woman._

As I look at myself in the mirror and make sure my formal royal outfit looks perfect, the door of my room is busted open by my partner in crime Claude Von Riegan. 

“Nice of you to knock”, I note dryly

“Hey! Just because I am dressed like a gentleman doesn’t mean I have to act like one.” Claude laughed as he patted me on the back. “Besides is my duty to make sure you don’t run late to the start of the ceremony.”

I chuckle as I look at him, he is wearing a similar outfit as mine but in the Almyran colors. — “You have nothing to worry about, I was about to go to the ballroom.”

“How are you feeling?” 

For once Claude’s face looked serious. He knew I was not looking forward to the process. Following tradition was one thing, but my mother had decided to televise the whole process like a reality show. Before, every single _selection process_ had been done behind closed door in the palace. However, times change and there has been some unrest in the kingdom as of late. It seemed that the votes of antimonarchists grew everyday. The regent hoped to create an illusion that the commoners would be heard during the process and distract them with _bread and circuses._

“You know how I feel about this whole televised affair. Selecting a wife is nerve-racking enough without having the whole kingdom’s eyes on me while I do it.”

“Who knows? Maybe the whole world will tune in!” Claude laughed but I had no patience for this tonight.

“Not helpful Claude… Let’s just get this over with.”

_Byleth_

Sothis is probably laughing at me right now, from wherever she looks over us. Every single woman in the kingdom wishes she could be me, but I have no interest in marrying a prince. I grew up in poverty my whole life, while the royalty dance in their palaces and rich people bought their place into our government. Just being here makes me feel complicit on the abuse of my people. 

_Goddess I am such a hypocrite_

I don’t really understand the selection process completely, but I know two things: First, the royal mage is tasked to travel all around the kingdom and test all eligible women for crests. Those who have one have no choice but to participate in _the selection_ process. The greatest honor and biggest duty of a young woman in the kingdom. Most of crest bearers come from noble families, but once in a while a commoner has one. That was me a couple of weeks ago, surprised when the mage determined I had a crest and must prepare to travel to Garreg Mach castle. In exchange, my father Jeralt was given a hundred pieces of gold. Enough to pay my mother’s medical bills. Second, if I am selected as part of the _court of twelve_ my family will receive a monthly allowance as long as I am in the running to become the princes wife. Nothing says courting like giving your father money in exchange of your freedom. Despite my misgivings, this was helping mom stay alive. I hated the idea of staying on this palace a second longer, but if I could hold it for a couple of months I could help my family break the cycle of poverty once and for all.

The whole ballroom went silent as the doors opened and the queen came in with her son. We all bowed and waited until they reached their thrones at the end of the room. I have seen pictures of them before, they were both unbelievable attractive. I was surprised to see the photos were not photoshopped, actually, they were both more attractive in real life than in picture. 

“Welcome to Garreg Mach castle” the Queen’s voice filled the room “As you know at midnight my dear son will turn 21 years old, marking the start of _the selection_ process. Tonight we are welcoming 50 young women from across the realm and neighboring kingdoms to meet the prince. At midnight, the prince will announce the twelve women that will form the _court of twelve_ and will move into the castle. We will start by introducing the women one by one. Please come forward as your name is called to meet the prince. Alois, please” She signaled to a knight and sat on her throne, leaving Prince Seteth standing.

“Lady Hilda, from the duchy of Valentine” At his words I saw a woman in pink hair walk towards the prince and do a small curtsy, the prince asked her a couple of questions before signaling to the knight to call another name.”

_Goddess this is going to take forever if this is going to be done for every single woman here._

But I knew I had to be patient as I watched beautiful woman after beautiful woman walk towards the prince. Some stayed there for just a couple of seconds, while the prince seemed to hold a little more interest in others talking for several minutes. Another thing that she noticed were the different dresses. You could tell how rich each of the candidates were based on their dress, as I didn’t owned anything remotely presentable for such affair the palace had given me a plain green dress. It was the most fancy and beautiful thing I had ever known, but compared to everyone’s dresses here it looked like a sack of potatoes.

“Princess Edelgard Von Hrselverg from the Adrestian Empire” the whole ballroom started murmuring amongst themselves. The Adrestian and Fodlan empires had been allies for centuries, but there had always been political tension between them. If the Adrestian princess was here it meant she could solidify the alliance and secure peace between both kingdoms for centuries. I wondered if their marriage had already been negotiated and the Queen had arranged for the selection to happen just for appearances sakes. It didn’t matter, she had no interest on the prince anyway. 

_Seteth_

I was so tired, the process had been going on for what felt hours. At this point all the woman’s faces started to blend into one another. Very few of them had managed to keep his attention for more than a couple of seconds. It felt pretty pointless to do this when he knew his mother wanted him to pick the Adrestian princess. By his count he had already met 49 of the candidates which meant the next one would be the last one.

_Thank Sothis_

_“_ Byleth Eisner, from Remire Village”

The murmurs started again just like when Edelgard’s name was called, except this time it was because that meant the candidate was a commoner.

He saw a woman with mint colored her walk up to him, the color reminded him of her Sister’s and mother’s hair. She was wearing a plain green dress. But he was not prepared by the way his heart skipped when she curtsied and looked him in the eyes. She was beautiful, no, enchanting. She was the most enchanting woman he had ever met. Her eyes seemed to look into his soul and he fund himself without words.

“It is… delightful to meet you Miss Eisner”

“Likewise your Highness”

The silence felt awkward between us but I could not think about anything to say. I could see her face looked hurt, and she quickly curtsied again and disappeared in the crowd

_I am such an idiot_

_Byleth_

The hours passed as I heard the music and laughter in the ballroom. I spent the whole time against the wall looking at how the other women practically launched themselves to the Prince. I rolled my eyes, just a little longer and I could be free.I wish I could get more money for my family, but there is no way I can compete with all these well bred women.

The sound of the bells interrupted the music indicating the strike of midnight. Everybody starting clapping at the announcement of the Prince’s birthday. 

_It is almost over_

Seteth moved to the front again to announce the names of the lucky ones.

“Thank you again for attending my birthday celebration. And thank you again to all the lovely women that came to meet me tonight. I am certain that the future Queen of Fodlán is amongst you, and I cannot wait to start this adventure with you all. I will now announce the names of the chosen candidates:

\- Princess Edelgard”

People clapped at the name. No surprises there.

“Lady Hilda, Lady Marianne, Lady Ingrid…”

Name after name was called and for some reason, my heart beat in nervousness. Every time that the name mentioned was not mine I felt a small pang of pain.

_Get your act together Byleth Eisner, a Prince doesn’t determine your worth._

“And last but not least… Miss Byleth”

The whole room went silent, and its even took me a couple of seconds to realize he had called my name. I walked slowly towards the other group of women and stood next to them. He had called my name and as a result my whole life was going to change forever.

After the press took thousands of pictures of us we were shown to our rooms. We would be given further instructions in the morning. I tried to sleep to no avail, so I escaped to the garden to think.I sat on a bench under a willow tree and closed my eyes. 

“I did not expect to find anyone in the garden at this time of night” I turned around and found Prince Seteth looking at me.

“My apologies Your Highness, I will go back to my room”

I stood to leave but he grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"Please... stay" His worths sounded so sincere.  My treacherous heart jumped at this, his profile was handsome and now that I was close to him I could see the strong muscles that hid under his clothes. I wanted to believe his words, believe he had liked me enough to keep me for a little long. But I also knew that the royal family hated bad press, and he probably wanted to do some damage control. I was the only person he hadn’t talked with, the press would eat him alive if they showed the footage from my introduction. He probably thought that by selecting me as part of the _court of twelve_ would save his ass. 

"Your Highness, I am sure you have better things to do than spend time with a _commoner_ like me" I emphasized the word commoner to make a point.

He tilted his head and regarded me thoughtfully.

"On the contrary, I looked for you all night during the ball."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow in skepticism "You have a way of showing it, you know with all the silent treatment and all?"  It was probably petty to answer that, but I had no fucks to give at this point. "I don't need your pity. You can stop pretending that you are interested in my, the cameras are not rolling." 

The Prince stood up, and I sighed in relief. I just wanted to be left alone. But instead he offered me his hand.

"Come with me, I would like to apologize for my behavior properly." 

I didn't understand why he couldn't apologize in that moment. I didn't want to trust me and my mind wanted to say no to his request. But something deep inside me told me take his hands and follow him.

_Seteth_

I took her to the Goddess Tower. I could have apologized in the garden, but I wanted to show her another side of me. I don't know why I wanted to prove myself to her. Yes, she was beautiful, but whatever he was feeling went beyond that. It was as if he had met her before. Like coming back home after a long journey. They had held hands the whole way, he thought she would pull her hand at the top of the tower but he didn't.

"I know this place..." That caught me by surprise. The Goddess Tower was closed to everyone except one time of the year. How is it possible that she had been here before? "I was ten, I still think of that day now and then. My father was tasked with fixing this tower, something he could only fix. I remember I sneaked out at night and came here. I remember thinking I had never seen such a beautiful sky." She smiled tenderly, as she dropped my hand and looked over the window. "I met a kitchen boy here, he was maybe two or three years older than me. He said the way the way my eyes shine put the stars to shame." 

My heart hammered in my chest, the story she was telling me, it was not possible. It couldn't be her, her eye color, her hair were different. He thought he would have recognized her anywhere even if she was still a child back then.

"If I remember correctly, you said that was the biggest lie you have ever heard" I said, hoping she would remember that too. Hoping it was truly her. She turned to look at me in surprise.

"How did you know that?" she said in a whisper.

I took a step towards her and cupped her face "I lied back then, I told you I was a kitchen boy so you would play with me. I felt so lonely back then. There were no kids in the castle. I spent the day surrounded by grown ups telling me what to do. And there you were that night, you had climbed this tower by yourself. I thought you were so brave. I lied so I could spend time with you."�

I felt Byleth nuzzle against my hand closing her eyes

"We spent that whole summer together, playing, hiding, running away from the guards. I never told my father about you. And I am guessing your parents never knew you were playing with the architect's daughter." She said it without reproach, she said it like a fact truly understanding why I had hid my identity back then. But now she was here, all these years later. Destiny had brought her back to me.

"One day I woke up and you were gone. A part of me hoped you could stay here forever. That we could spend more days playing and having adventures."

Her face turn serious at my words.

"The work was finished and we went back home. Even if I had stayed your family would have found about us eventually. The heir of to the crown has no business spending his days with a commoner."

"But you are here now."

"But I am here now..."

All these years I had thought about her. Wondered if I would ever find her again. I don't know if I fell in love with her back then, or I idolized her so much I bounded my heart to a fantasy. But now that she was here... I leaned and close the distance to kiss her. I lick the seam of her lips, tasting her skin, and then I run my tongue over hers. Byleth kisses me back, which is excellent and wonderful, and everything feels right in the world right now. 


	2. Tradition

**27th Ethereal Moon, 2019**

Seteth

I go back into my bedroom in a daze. The girls rooms are on a different wing and I had to part with Byleth much sooner than I wanted. But if anyone in the palace see us together she would be disqualified from _the selection_ immediately. The selection process is steeped in so much tradition and rules that even I struggle to remember all of them. But the biggest rule is very clear: “Ladies are not authorized to meet with the prince outside of censored events. The punishment for breaking this rule is disqualification.”

I lay in bed and touch my fingers to my lips still remembering our kiss. She didn’t hesitate to kiss me back. Whatever fantasy I created about her on my head all these years seemed to be reciprocated. I am not naive of course, I don’t know anything about the woman she is now. But what I feel for her even if it is a fantasy is more than what I feel for any of the other eleven women. 

My bedroom’s door opens to reveal Claude bursting in without announcement, as usual. He throws himself in bed next to me and sighs.

“So, have you found your wife yet?” There is a tease in his tone, as an Almyran he doesn’t understand why I am been subjected to this process.

“Even if I had Claude, you know that…”

“Yes, yes, tradition says you need to at least wait a month before doing the first cut. And the final three must live here in the palace for six months before you can do a proposal.” He makes talking hands as he speaks trying to imitate my voice. I roll my eyes in response.

“Forgive me, but not all of us are lucky enough to have fallen in love with a princess and actually be on the road to a marriage based on love and duty”

I try to not sound bitter as I say this. Claude was sent here when he was 15 to train alongside me. Our parents thought it would strengthen Almyran-Fodlán relations. When he arrived my little sister Flayn was only ten years old, but when reached her teenage years Claude started looking at her with different eyes. He had asked for his hand just last summer, and our parents were happy to oblige. Their marriage would do what my mother hoped my marriage to Edelgard would do to Adrestian-Fodlán relations. However, Claude and Flayn loved each other deeply. Of course, as royals we never fully expect to marry out of love, but now that Byleth is here I wonder if I could have a chance.

“What are you thinking about bro?”

I would usually grunt at Claude calling me “bro” but right now this thing seems more important.

“Remember I told you about that girl I met on the Goddess Tower?”

“You mean the one you wouldn’t shut about when we met? Yes, you said she was just a kid but she was the bravest, strongest, smartest kid you have ever met and you wanted to see her again. I remember thinking you were crazy, we were fifteen and I still thought girls had cooties and you seemed to be in love with someone since you were twelve. What about that?”

“She is here as part of the court of twelve”

“WHAT?” Claude stood up at my revelation and looked down at me. “ I thought you said she was a commoner, an architect’s daughter” His eyes widen when he understood “You mean the commoner from Remire Village? Is that her?”

“Yes, it is her. I didn’t recognize her at first, she looked different back then, her hair used to be a dark blue. And her name is different now, she told me her name was Lilibeth”

“Didn’t you tell her you were a kitchen boy or something? She could have lied too…”

“True…”

“So what are you going to do about it?” Claude’s voice sounded excited and happy, I knew that meant he was starting to think about a scheme.

“You know I have to follow the rules Claude, I cannot give her any preference. Besides, there is the whole Adrestian Empire alliance. I already risked too much by meeting her tonight.”

“YOU SAW HER TONIGHT!”

“It was not planned, we ran into each other and… It doesn’t matter Claude I have to follow the tradition, I cannot communicate with her for a month.”

“Wait! Isn’t she supposed to get assigned two ladies in waiting?”

“Yes…” I am not sure where he is going with this

“Ferdinand, your retainer, isn’t he married to one of them?”

“Yes! Dorothea!” I sat up now too, dammit Claude was making so much sense. “And the head of my guard, Dedude! He is married to to another one, Mercedes.”

“Well, I think you know what to do Prince, you may not be able to communicate with her but there is nothing on the rules about having someone else take care of her.”

“Claude YOU ARE A GENIUS!”

**27th Guardian Moon, 2019**

Byleth

I am sitting on my assigned bedroom bored out of my mind. It has been a month since I last saw Prince Seteth. Which is confusing given he is supposed to get to know us in order to chose a wife. Instead, over the last weeks my life has consisted of the following: First, we are woken at 7am by our ladies in waiting. They serve breakfast in our room and helps us get ready in our “morning clothes”. Which is code for a light dress. At 10am we are escorted by the castle knights to a room where take “Royal Training Classes”. This is where we learn, all about the laws, traditions and expected behaviors of a Queen. Next, go back to the room, have lunch and change for whatever specialized lesson we have that day. Horseback riding, dancing, banquet organizing. Finally, dinner and go back to sleep.

This wouldn’t be so terrible if everyday was not a constant humiliation. Every single woman here has had some sort of noble upbringing. Not everyone knows as much as the Adrestian princess but I didn’t even know there were multiple types of forks until a couple weeks ago.

“My lady?” My thoughts are interrupted by Dorothea’s voice as she comes in through my bedroom’s secret door

“Yes, Thea?” The only good thing about the last month has been Dorothea and Mercedes company.

“It is time to get you ready for tonight’s dinner. It is the first time you will see the Prince since his birthday! Aren’t you excited?”

“I don’t know how to feel, all the other women will be there in their fancy clothes and I will just be there with my plain clothes.” Because I didn’t have any fancy clothes when I arrived here, the castle provided me with some old clothes from other ladies in waiting. They were sufficient for the day to day activities but the made me stick up like a sore thumb.

“Actually, no more plain clothes for you! As of today you will get an allowance that will be used to buy fabrics, jewels, and other accessories. It is based on your status.”

“Do you mean my status as a commoner?” I lifted my eyebrow at Dorothea as I said this. I am not sure how that would help.

“Yes, but you happen to have two of the most diligent ladies in waiting out there and we know people. We can stretch that allowance to make you look even better than those snobs, trust me.”

She sat me down and started working on my hair, twisting it on elegant braids. When Mercedes case in with a pink dress I stood up. They both helped me get inside it and I instantly felt how the fabric molded to my curves perfectly. It was a rose strapless ballgown with a sweetheart neckline. The whole bodice was covered in roses that seemed to fade as they came down the skirt giving it a magical effect. I gasped as I looked into the mirror. Dorothea was right, this dress was even prettier than some of the dresses I had seen the first night. The only thing I didn’t have was jewelry.

And now for the final tough” Dorothea produced a box ut of nowhere, and inside was a beautiful necklace, the threads twisted to form my crest in beautiful silver encrusted by sparkling crystals. There was also a pair of earrings. “Tradition says that the Prince can also send gifts to any of the ladies he chooses. And he only sent a gift to you.”

* * *

**12th Pegasus Moon, 2019**

Seteth

I am pacing down the room nervously, there is only a table for two set up in antechamber. Every night for the last eleven days I had a dinner with each of the women in the court of twelve. To avoid any diplomacy issues I had to invite them according to their status which meant Byleth had been last. However, this was the last moment where my decisions would be bounded by ranking. Once the first “official dinner” with all of them is done I can decide who to spend my time with based on my preferences, at least on theory. I still feel the pressure of making an alliance with Edelgard work, but she looked as uninterested in me as I am about her. Of the other women only two other have caught my attention, Lady Ingrid and Lady Hilda. But none of them take my breath away like Byleth does. We have breakfast and lunch as a group now and every time she walks in I feel like my heart stops. I have heard from Dorothea and Mercedes that she doesn’t talk a lot with the other women, and that she is mostly serious and quiet during their lessons. But whenever I look at her, she smiles, a smile meant only for me and my heart warms. My thoughts are interrupted by Ferdinand who opens the door to announce her arrival.

“Your Highness, Miss Byleth Eisner”

Byleth walks in a long midnight blue evening dress. The fabric is so elegant it didn’t need any extra embellishments. Byleth’s hair is down and is wearing the necklace and earring I have her as her jewelry. Some of the other woman have used their allowance to purchase jewels but she seems content with using that piece every day. I like to think is her way of sending a small message to me everyday despite the fact that we have barely talked in all these weeks. Ferdinand extras and closes the door leaving us alone and in complete privacy.

“Your Highness” Byleth gives me an elegant curtsy and keeps her eyes down, just like her etiquette teachers taught her. But I don’t any of this. This is the first time we have been alone since the Goddess Tower, and I want to get to know her for real.

“When we are alone you can just call me Seteth” I walk towards her and grab her hands between mine. She looks up to me with her beautiful eyes and the ghost of a smile. “I know you have spent all these weeks learning the do’s and don’t of royal protocol, but here we can be ourselves.”

She tilts her head still saying nothing, like trying to process my words.

“You told me your name was Daniel and that you were a kitchen cook.” She narrows her eyes “I know why you had to lie to me, but, are all the other things you told me true?”

I chuckle, of course, that is the thing she has been thinking about all these weeks. The same as me.

“I promise everything else was true, Lilibeth” She laughs, such a beautiful laugh that I want to just hear forever. 

“Touché” her eyes sparkle. “So, now what?”

“Now we have dinner, and get to know each other” I walk her towards the table and open the chair for her.


End file.
